Employees will have the right to switch jobs without getting a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employers if the company fails to pay their monthly salary within seven days of the due date, an official from the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA) said.

Qatar Tribune quoted the official as saying that a decision to this effect has already been taken at the ministerial level and will be implemented soon.

“The government wants all companies operating in the country to pay monthly salaries to their employees on time or in certain cases within seven days from the due date. If they fail to do so, employees of such companies will have the right to change jobs even if they haven’t completed the contract period,” the official said.

Despite implementation of the Wage Protection System (WPS) almost a year ago, some companies are yet to adopt it.

“The government is taking action to identify companies that are yet to implement WPS. Such companies will be blacklisted and lose the support of the government,” the official said.

The official said that a Swiss company hired by the ministry to smoothen the procedure of recruitment of expatriate workers will start functioning soon.

It will start opening its branches in 39 countries which have agreed to send workers to Qatar to complete employment formalities like medical checkup, document and certificate verification, and signing of work contract in the source country itself.

Any company operating in Qatar will have to hire the services of the Swiss firm to complete the employment prerequisites in the source country.

Fees for availing the services of the Swiss company will be paid by the employer and not the employee, the official said, adding that fees for services are yet to be fixed.